ABOUT WHOSE HOO

More About Whose Hoo

The Hoo Peninsula, situated along the Thames Estuary in Kent, is a captivating tapestry of natural wonders and rich heritage. Its landscape, filled with marshlands, ancient woodlands, and wetlands, has a unique and varied character that reflects how its landscape has been used over thousands of years. The area's heritage shines through historic forts, and centuries-old maritime relics, highlighting a deep connection to the past.

Whose Hoo is a heritage and culture-based scheme, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which will run from 2025 to 2029. During those four years the scheme aims to create a lasting framework which empowers a wide range of stakeholders, including residents, schools, and landowners, to help current and future generations enjoy, learn from, and conserve this fascinating and important landscape. The scheme aims to:

  • Conserve, restore and celebrate the built and natural features that create the historic landscape character of the Hoo Peninsula​
  • Increase community participation in the natural and historic heritage of the Hoo Peninsula. ​
  • Increase access to and learning about the landscape and heritage of the Hoo Peninsula​
  • Create connections across the Hoo Peninsula through meaningful volunteering

More Details About the Planned Projects

Whose Hoo aims to deliver a suite of projects, which can be grouped under four themes – habitats, heritage, connections and discovery. The following lists of projects give a flavour of the proposals.

Habitats

Whose Hoo will improve the unique habitats of the Hoo Peninsula to increase resilience and biodiversity through:

  • Completing hedgerow surveys, management and replanting to restore the network of hedgerows across the Hoo Peninsula farmland
  • Improvements across Stoke Marshes to realise their full ecological potential.
  • A hydrological study to increase understanding of how to protect resources for nature and landowners, in the face of climate change and future developments.
  • Restoring the lost treescape with disease resistant elms.

Heritage

Whose Hoo will restore existing heritage and tell the stories of the Hoo Peninsula by:

  • Establishing volunteer work to study the remains, improve surroundings and deliver events for local people around heritage.
  • Securing the future of Shornemead Fort.
  • Restoring Slough Fort’s main barrack building and magazines and providing visitor facilities/displays explaining its stories and those of other military sites on the peninsula.
  • Restoring the world’s first anti-aircraft battery at Lodge Hill.

Connection

Whose Hoo will inspire, inform and involve local communities by:

  • Providing educational activities for young people to learn about the impact of climate change on the estuary.
  • Carrying out regular beach cleans with volunteers from the local community.
  • Installing a dipping platform on the Thames and Medway Canal, to engage schools and deliver a series of conservation tasks and heritage awareness events.
  • Recruiting and training volunteers to be involved in heritage activities described above.
  • Leasing a shared community bus to transport volunteers, local residents and community groups to projects and events.

Discovery

Whose Hoo will improve access to the natural landscape and heritage for the community, by:

  • Developing an annual ‘Whoop Heritage Festival’ delivering activities and performances, using local venues.
  • Developing and promoting 6 new walking routes (focusing on the important heritage/cultural aspects of the area).
  • Providing boat trips on a sailing barge, taking people on journeys to explore different aspects of the estuary, as part of the annual festival.
  • Listening and audio recorded walks will map the sonic landscape. A soundtrack will be developed, shared publicly in a listening pod installation and available digitally.
  • A range of activities to connect the younger generation to the cultural and historic landscape of the Hoo Peninsula will be created and led by the Youth Services Team.

Project Staff

Whose Hoo has dedicated staff employed by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), to manage the delivery phase and involve the local community. Michelle Abel is the Whose Hoo Scheme Manager and Amanda Hedges is the Whose Hoo Community Engagement Officer. Michelle and Amanda are supported by the project’s partners, read more on About the Partners.

Who Are the National Lottery Heritage Fund?

The National Lottery Heritage Fund are the largest funder of UK (United Kingdom) heritage, investing money raised by the National Lottery in collaboration with a range of statutory bodies. Since the National Lottery Heritage Fund was established in 1994, they have awarded £8.8billion of funding to over 51,000 projects across the UK, whilst also providing leadership and support across the heritage sector.

The Heritage Fund have already helped deliver fantastic projects on the Hoo Peninsula, including Histories of the Hoo Peninsula and the restoration of Hoo St Werburgh Parish Church. With their support we hope to deliver 4 years’ worth of amazing activities whilst learning about and protecting the Hoo Peninsulas cultural, natural, and historic heritage.

banner